But Ishar quickly erased the thought that had just crossed his mind.

As the heir to a highranking loyal family, it was impossible to serve someone other than the direct royal family.

“…What can I do for you?”

Ishar, who had barely controlled his emotions, asked. His lord answered without hesitation.

“Spicy stew.”

His lord couldn’t eat spicy food well. So that food would be to Liz Berium’s taste.

“I understand. I will do it. But please make sure of this one thing.”

Ishar accepted with a condition.

“You will return to the palace, won’t you?”

“…….”

“You will… right? Right, Your Majesty?”

The answer came to the second question.

“Yes.”

Yes…….

That’s enough.

His lord, who had grown up with him like a friend, had always kept promises since childhood. Even trivial ones. So, he will keep this promise. He must.

Let’s think about that for now. It’s the most important.

Ishar left the room with relief.

The man left alone in the room after he left muttered to himself.

“Perhaps this promise will be the first one in my life that I can’t keep.”

A bitter smile lingered around his eyes and mouth.

After wiping his face like drying it, the man who came out without thinking about cooking, found Ishar standing still in front of the door.

“What’s up?”

The man tapped Ishar’s slightly shorter shoulder and said.

Ishar pointed somewhere with his chin instead of answering.

“There’s no need for food, is there?”

The man, who looked in that direction, nodded in agreement.

Liz… was asleep. Leaning deep into the recliner.

He said with his smooth red lips.

“I see. Then instead…….”

“……?”

“Let’s use the bed.”

(This is a time divider.)

A dark space illuminated by a single candle.

A patient lying in bed, moaning in pain, and three people looking down at him.

The patient’s forehead was stuck to his forehead with cold sweat, and his clothes were soaked in blood.

His hand was wrapped in bandages, and the ends were blunt like a broken piece of wood. There were no fingers visible.

The doctor who treated the man said,

“He bled so much I thought it would be hard for him to survive, but he barely saved him. Who could have done such a thing?”

The middleaged man receiving the report from the doctor said nothing.

The man beside him, who looked like an attendant, asked a different question.

“What about the others?”

“They died on the spot.”

“Died on the spot?”

“Yes, the opponent aimed so precisely at the vital points. There was absolutely no chance of survival.”

The recipient’s brows furrowed slightly. His face seemed to guess who had done this.

The doctor tried to do something else, but the man who looked like the attendant hurried him to wrap it up, so he had no choice but to comply.

“But you have to be careful not to let the bleeding get worse. Even though he’s passed the critical stage, he can’t rest easy.”

“I understand, now go.”

The doctor left as if driven out, and the attendant asked his master.

“What shall we do?”

“Go and see.”

“Yes.”
The attendant bowed and left the room. Now only a middleaged man and the patient were left in the room.

“Ugh…….”

The man continued to moan, but it seemed that the pain had somewhat subsided since he had been administered a painkiller. He was able to open his eyes and look around, appearing somewhat conscious. Into his eyes came a robed middleaged man.

His vision was still blurry, so he couldn’t see the man’s face clearly. He stared intently at his counterpart, waiting for his vision to clear. It didn’t take long.

The man opened his eyes wide and suddenly sat up.

“Your…… Your Highness!”

Regent Duke Damieng Montanier.

Though he was wearing a robe, it was clearly him.

His eyes, a strange blend of red and purple, were unlike anything else.

The man was a scoundrel but had fairly good insight.

“Heh heh, you recognize me.”

“Yes…… yes, Your Highness. I saw you up front when you were on a carriage tour.”

“Is that so, I’m thankful you recognized me.”

“But…… why are you here?”

The man felt a considerable discomfort, apart from the thrill of having recognized the Duke up close.

When he shrank his shoulders with a frightened face, the Duke gently pressed him back down on the bed. Then he patted his chest as if to reassure him.

“I was worried about a report that came in through the military police in the middle of the night, so I came to see.”

“I…… I see.”

“There are a few things I’d like to ask.”

“Wha…… Whatever you ask. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Did you see the face of the one who did this to you?”

The Duke asked, his eyes glowing red.

“I…… I saw. Of course.”

“Who was it?”

The man’s face brightened. He had been inwardly worried about an unanswerable question, but there was no need to worry at all.

“It was a man with black hair and pumpkincolored…… no, golden eyes.”

“Any other features?”

“He was as lean as a wild beast. And what else was there……. Ah, yes. He twirled the sword between his fingers as if performing a trick.”

The man remembered the image of the man watching his subordinate’s desperate attack as if watching a play and twirling the sword.

‘Indeed.’

The Duke seemed to confirm his suspicion, and he closed his eyes for a moment before asking another question.

“Who was the woman?”